The investigation into anomalous flood control projects may return to square one after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) admitted Monday that inspections from 2016 to 2025 were likely conducted in the wrong locations.
Appearing before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Undersecretary Arthur Bisnar said discrepancies in grid coordinates may have misled inspectors.
“Dahil po dito sa development na ito na most likely maling location ang napuntahan nila, then we have to restart over,” Bisnar said, noting that authorities have no choice but to restart the process.
Joint AFP-PNP teams had inspected 10,238 flood control projects nationwide, flagging 252 as ghost projects—all of which must now be revisited.
The admission came after Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson disclosed that former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan allegedly submitted incorrect project coordinates to Malacañang, which were later used for validation through the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” platform.
Officials confirmed the coordinates given to the Office of the President differed from those in project contracts, raising new concerns over data integrity, accountability, and the credibility of the validation process.
The revelation casts doubt on earlier findings and underscores the scale of irregularities tied to billions of pesos in flood control funds.